How much sand in a 100 gallon???

[alexarae]

Okay, I think I have my moving plan down pretty well.
Now the question is...how much sand should I put in the 100 gallon?
I use slate rock decorations so I'm a little nervous about cracking my bottom glass or scratching it terribly.

I'm sure that your opinions will be brilliant, so thank you in advance.
I honestly do not know what I would have done without this forum!!!

[Hanson77]

Re: How much sand in a 100 gallon???

You would be surprised at how much weight it can handle.  I have about 75-100lbs of sand like substrate in my 75 gallon.  Its actually jet black sandblasting media that I got from Aqua Zoo and who knows how many pounds of various slate, petrified wood, and other rock stacked up in it.

The glass on a 100 gallon is probably close if not a little thicker so you shouldn't have to worry about cracking it.  How long is your 100 gallon?  The reason I am asking is that we used sand to fill a friend's 125 and it took 75lbs for a 5' tank.

[eklikewhoa]

Re: How much sand in a 100 gallon???

Go to Home Depot or Lowes, go to the lighting section and get some light diffusers for the bottom of your tank and then lay the sand on that then the slate.

The light diffuser will help distribute the weight and will also keep the slate from coming into contact with the glass.

I used 140lbs of sand for a 6ft 125g but ended up siphoning out at least 30lbs.

[rrocket2002]

Re: How much sand in a 100 gallon???

Another name for "light diffusers" is "egg crate".  Its around $10 for a sheet of of 8' x 8' or something close to that.

Cut it up so you have 2-3 pieces that will fit the length of your tank bottom.  It would be too hard to put one long piece.

As for how much sand....I used 3 50lb bags in my 125g.  It is about 2" deep.  

I would recommend not having any filters running while putting the sand in and wait about an hour before turning your filters back on.  The sand will float to the bottom, but that is alot of sand going in at once and having the filter off will negate any chances of sand getting into your filter.  Sand can mess up your filters.

Raul

[Hanson77]

Re: How much sand in a 100 gallon???

I agree on leaving your filters off....  As long as you rinse the sand thoroughly, you should be ok after a few hours or so.  He didn't rinse and it was one big mess...

[eklikewhoa]

Re: How much sand in a 100 gallon???

Another thing to add is pour the sand in with minimal water in the tank, It's easier for sand to settle in a few inches of water vs. a tankful